The Night After the Night Before
by i be god
Summary: The world has been saved, yay. The team land at Junon for a boogie on down whilst Cloud and Tifa slip away to Niblehiem for some summarising. Its lovely, really it is. (Not C/T)


Unfortunately I am not a complete genius and I did not come up with the idea behind final fantasy 7 or any of the series, damn.  
  
The Night after the Night Before  
  
The battered remnants of the airship Highwind landed effortlessly outside of Junon. Hordes of people surged towards it like ants to a sugar cane, brandishing gifts of all varieties from food to the best weapons they had to offer. Yuffie was the first off the ship, where she puked all over the boots of a materia merchant. 'Sorry 'bout that, travel sickness.' She gasped. Her eyes then widened with glee as the merchant, who was still smiling, offered a wide selection of materia, probably everything he owned. 'We aint takin' no gifts!' Barrett barked as his titanic arms lifted Yuffie up from her pool of vomit. Cait Sith bounced down the ramp to meet the frantic crowd, shaking peoples hands and telling people their fortunes. Children had now begun to climb onto Barrett's broad shoulders. Vincent and Red XIII descended together with Cid trailing behind. Cloud and Tifa watched the gathering from the cockpit window. 'They want to see you Cloud.' Tifa whispered as the crew of the High wind were now greeted with cheers of admiration. 'They want to see all of us.' Cloud replied. 'You're the man of the hour.' She said as she rubbed some dirt of his pale cheek, 'You saved the world you know.' 'Come away with me.' Tifa stared blankly at Cloud as she tried to understand what had been said. Cloud stood staring at the floor as Tifa realised he had not looked into her eyes since they had escaped from the crater. He had seen Aeries there, she knew. 'Ok.' She said. Jets of mako hissed around the Highwind as its rusty mass began to rattle noisily. Cid swore loudly. The ship rose and the crowd gasped and cheered. Tifa waved from the deck as the ship moved east across the sea. Cid swore, even more loudly.  
  
The reception at Nibleheim was as inviting as a morgue. The people did not cheer and they didn't offer goods. Cloud and Tifa walked in together in silence. Darkness engulfed the eastern continent now as Tifa wondered what the party must be like in the Gold Saucer. Her thought drifted back to Cloud's sad face, his sullen emerald eyes still staring at the floor. She searched her mind for something cheery to say. She couldn't think of anything. 'Why did you bring us here Cloud?' She asked brightly, 'We could have had a party in Junon, or visited the Gold Saucer, that would have been lovely.' 'I wondered if we could talk on the well.' He looked up at her and Tifa's heart did a weird back flip. She didn't know how she felt, though she was shocked at Cloud's idea. 'I'd love to.' She said. They climbed the well. Cloud had a memory of them doing this years ago as children, though it never happened. He pondered this for a moment. Tifa remembers it and I remember it. To us it happened. 'You saw her didn't you?' Tifa asked. 'Yes, she was there in the light. When I killed Sephiroth she was set free, I think.' 'I miss her.' 'What are you going to do now?' 'I don't know. Marlene will probably need a babysitter for a few years.' Tifa laughed weakly, 'I want to live life again. Don't you?' 'I'm living someone else's life.' Cloud said. Tifa sighed and looked down at her long pale legs. She brushed her lengthy brown hair out of her eyes and leaned back on her hands. 'Its your life Cloud, do as you want with it, I cant deny you are like. him, but you've changed and your stronger and you are a different person. No-one can deny that except yourself.' 'She loved him, she said it herself he was her first love, does that make me her first love too?' Tifa leaned towards Cloud and lay her head on his shoulder. 'It doesn't do to dwell.' She said, 'We have won, and lost, and whatever happens now cannot be dictated by Shinra, Sephiroth or Zack,' Cloud twitched slightly, 'we are free. The how and why is irrelevant.' They sat in silence for a long time. The night dragged on inevitable, predictable and unchanging like machinery. Cloud managed to smile a little at the thought of seeing Cid's face when they got back. 


End file.
